Ah Fatt, as he is popularly known, has recently been overwhelmed by the large number of cats dumped at the market where he works as a fishmonger. It started during the month prior to the festive season and it hasn’t stopped.
Lately, a lady has been dumping her pet cats (about 10 or more each time) at the market during closing time. When questioned, the lady says she is not allowed to get her cats spayed due to religious reasons so they keep breeding and she has to dump them somewhere.
It is sad that her poor cats are left to breed. Some of the dumped cats are entire families (mothers and very young kittens) and it must be extremely sad for the cats, to have lived as pets and now, dumped to fend for themselves. According to Ah Fatt, many of the young kittens die because of poor immunity and they contract diseases at the market. Ah Fatt even drives the vet to the market to vaccinate as many of the kittens as possible in an attempt to increase their chances of survival.
It is really overwhelming and demotivating for Ah Fatt, his wife and another friend (who also helps to look after all the market cats) that despite trying so hard to save the cats and kittens, 1-2 young kittens still die daily. I met Ah Fatt and his wife today and they told me the sad situation.
Ah Fatt has brought 3 more females and 1 male to be spayed and neutered. We have subsidised RM400 for the procedures.
The following photos were sent by Ah Fatt by mms. Ah Fatt does not use email.
For every cat spayed or neutered, we know many unwanted births are prevented.
So, we carry on, no matter what.
Comments
4 responses to “Spay-neuter subsidy for 4 market cats (Then Lai Fatt’s)”
If the lady who is dumping the cats happens to be Muslim, perhaps Ah Fatt (bless his heart!) could share this with her. It’s the official JAKIM fatwa promoting spay/neuter of animals:
We have referred to the “Jawatankuasa Kemajuan Islam Malaysia” regarding the neutering of pets. Below is the “fatwa” issued by JAKIM (July 2002):
“All pets like cats and dogs are allowed to be neutered or spayed in order to maintain the health and welfare of both the animals and the community.”
“Bahawa mengembiri binatang kesayangan seperti kucing atau anjing hukumnya adalah diharuskan dengan sebab-sebab tertentu iaitu bagi menjaga muslahat ummah.”
After studying the messages of the aforementioned “mazhab”s and the medical viewpoint of the SPCA animal experts, ‘JAKIM’ has decided that neutering of cats for reasons of ‘maslahat’ is acceptable. It is in agreement with ‘qaedah’ (way) Fiqhiyyah which states “To choose the lesser of two evils”.
Had already shared with Ah Fatt when I spoke with him on the phone the other day – thank you! Unfortunately, Jakim’s statement does not work on everyone. Some still hold on to their own understanding or what they have been told. And this “understanding” (or misunderstanding, if you like) happens across cultures. I think it boils down to one’s own thinking and one’s reluctance to see it any other way. We faced the same problem over in Pulau Ketam years ago, and those were Chinese (who also held on to their own beliefs). They too were reluctant to change their way of thinking.
But thank you very much, Maneki, for sharing.
I was about to send the same fatwa that Maneki Neko sent. I keep it in my handphone to in case I need convince anyone who says otherwise. But you are right, there are those who prefer to stick to their own beliefs, even after seeing the JAKIM fatwa.
It doesn’t help that there are also religious personalities out there who augment this belief. No offense, but I strongly believe that they say that it is wrong to spay out of pure ignorance. They haven’t seen how hard it is for cats and dogs living on the streets. They don’t know just how fast cats and dogs can breed. They don’t know how unkind people can be to street cats and animals.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t interfere with nature. But when you have irresponsible people who view animals as disposable, we have no choice but to spay. While spaying is not ideal, it is the lesser of two evils.
You are absolutely right on this, Aznita. Thank you for sharing!